View full sizeThe OregonianDenise Williams of Hillsboro purchases a ticket in 2009 at a machine at Pioneer Courthouse Square.

TriMet says a systemwide computer bug that prevented riders from purchasing tickets via vending machines with plastic for nearly two hours Wednesday has been fixed.

The transit agency said none of its ticket
vending machines were accepting payments by credit or debit card, but they will
take cash.

The outage started before 1 p.m. and TriMet has
called in technicians try to get it fixed before rush hour. TriMet spokeswoman
Kellie Randall said it's not clear what went haywire in the system.

At 2:40 p.m., another spokeswoman, Roberta Altstadt, sent out an email: "The issue has been resolved and machines are beginning to accept credit/debit cards again. TriMet regrets any inconvenience
to riders. Fare enforcers were aware of the issue."

At the same time, Randall said, fare enforcers are
aware of the problem. "Like any situation where a rider says they attempted to
buy fare and couldn't," she said, "the enforcement officer will call in to
check on the status of a machine."

Of course, in this case, it sounds as if all of
the card-accepting machines are on the blink.